Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Jan 23, 2022

RH’s Financials, Long-Term Potential Great But Housing Market and Deteriorating Wealth Effect Pose Risks
Image Shown: Shares of RH have exploded higher since the news broke that Berkshire Hathaway Inc had taken a stake in the firm’s equity back in 2019, though shares of RH have shifted lower in recent months. RH is an innovative home furnishing company that pairs its products with interior/exterior design services to offer a comprehensive package. The company primarily targets affluent households in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. RH has tremendous pricing power and its margins have increased significantly in recent fiscal years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its net revenues are trending higher as well. The firm is expanding into the high-end hospitality industry and has several projects that are set to come online in 2022 and beyond. RH is a stellar free cash flow generator with a manageable net debt load. Though the company has been executing nicely of late, as witnessed by its stellar financial performance and recent guidance increases, shares of RH have sold off in recent months. In our view, the recent selloff is a function of broad based market weakness, but it also may be due to investors growing more concerned about the impact higher interest rates and a deteriorating wealth effect may have on housing and home furnishing demand and on its push into the hospitality space, respectively. We continue to view RH’s long-term capital appreciation upside potential favorably, however.

Dec 14, 2021

Kroger Beats Estimates and Once Again Raises Guidance
Image Source: Kroger Co - Third Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. Kroger Co recently reported third quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended November 6, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates, and the retailer also once again boosted its full-year guidance for fiscal 2021. Kroger’s operations include retail store brands such as City Market, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyers, Metro Market, and more, along with its private label brands of consumer staples offerings. Shares of KR have shifted meaningful higher since its latest earnings update as of this writing.

Nov 16, 2021

The Valuentum Weekly Is a Hit! Only Delivered By Email!
The Valuentum Weekly is a brand-new weekly market commentary from Valuentum Securities, released each weekend in digital form. The Valuentum Weekly offers members a weekly synopsis of the markets and major events. It will be straight and to-the-point. Our goal is to deliver to you the latest information and insights. We welcome your feedback on how we can make the Valuentum Weekly as useful and as relevant for you as ever!

Oct 20, 2021

Quants and High-Frequency Trading the Real Cause of the GameStop Frenzy?
Image: The cause of the GameStop trading frenzy remains largely unclassified as it appears to us that quant and high-frequency trading played a much bigger role in the market disruption than what is being reported. We think the SEC staff put out a fantastic “GameStop Report” with some excellent information. However, the report did not get to the crux of the matter, failing to disclose what actually caused the extreme market volatility in meme stocks, while glossing over the substantial increase in institutional accounts, likely belonging to quant/trend/momentum funds, that contributed to the trading frenzy this year. We think investors and market participants deserve to know more about what caused this threat to market integrity and structure as the continued proliferation of which may only grow larger and larger in the coming decades. If it was quant trading, then we encourage the SEC to take steps to ensure that such trading is curbed effectively as it is clear that such price-agnostic activity is not contributing to market efficiency.

Jun 3, 2021

How to Navigate the Low Return Environment
Image Source: QuoteInspector.com. Investors continue to gamble on meme stocks and cryptocurrencies. There are no shortcuts to success in the markets and focusing on individual security selection within the equity component of the capital structure with a focus on long-term cash-flow-based fundamentals continues to be a prudent strategy, in our view. Success rates within the Exclusive publication, for example, continue to be fantastic. The success rates for capital appreciation ideas (49 of 59) and short idea considerations (53 of 59) in the Exclusive publication are now ~83%% and ~90% from July 2016-May 2021. For investors focused on capital appreciation potential, the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio may be worth a look. For those with a dividend growth focus, the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio has a plethora of ideas. Though AT&T threw us a curve ball with respect to changes in its dividend payout recently, the prudent and diversified nature of the simulated High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio continues to deliver, while idea generation remains robust. Many of our options ideas have done quite well, too. We remember when the S&P was trading at about 3,000, and we pegged a fair value range on the S&P 500 of 3,530-3,920, and many thought we were crazy at the time (the S&P 500 now stands at ~4,200 at the time of this writing). You have to understand: Stock prices and returns are based on future expectations and forecasts, a truism that AMC Entertainment’s trading activity has all but proven. AMC defeats efficient markets theory. AMC defeats value versus growth. AMC defeats backward-looking analysis. Finance is dead. The field must evolve. Long live Value Trap.

Jun 1, 2021

ICYMI -- Video: Exclusive 2020 -- Furthering the Financial Discipline
In this 40+ minute video jam-packed with must-watch content, Valuentum's President Brian Nelson talks about the Theory of Universal Valuation and how his work is furthering the financial discipline. Learn the pitfalls of factor investing and modern portfolio theory and how the efficient markets hypothesis holds little substance in the wake of COVID-19. He'll talk about what companies Valuentum likes and why, and which areas he's avoiding. This and more in Valuentum's 2020 Exclusive conference call.

Feb 8, 2021

Stock Market Outlook for 2021
2020 was one from the history books and a year that will live on in infamy. That said, we are excited for the future as global health authorities are steadily putting an end to the public health crisis created by COVID-19, aided by the quick discovery of safe and viable vaccines. Tech, fintech, and payment processing firms were all big winners in 2020, and we expect that to continue being the case in 2021. Digital advertising, cloud-computing, and e-commerce activities are set to continue dominating their respective fields. Cybersecurity demand is moving higher and the constant threats posed by both governments (usually nations that are hostile to Western interests) and non-state actors highlights how crucial these services are. Retailers with omni-channel selling capabilities are well-positioned to ride the global economic recovery upwards. Green energy firms will continue to grow at a brisk pace in 2021, though the oil & gas industry appears ready for a comeback. The adoption of 5G wireless technologies and smartphones will create immense growth opportunities for smartphone makers, semiconductor players and telecommunications giants. Video streaming services have become ubiquitous over the past decade with room to continue growing as households “cut the cord” and instead opt for several video streaming packages. We’re not too big of fans of old industrial names given their capital-intensive nature relative to capital-light technology or fintech, but there are select names that have appeal. Cryptocurrencies have taken the market by storm as we turn the calendar into 2021, but the traditional banking system remains healthy enough to withstand another shock should it be on the horizon. Our fair value estimate of the S&P 500 remains $3,530-$3,920, but we may still be on a roller coaster ride for the year. Here’s to a great 2021!

Jan 25, 2021

ALERT: Bull Raids, Short Squeezes and Highly Unusual Market Activity
Image: Shares of GameStop have been on an irrationally wild ride recently driven by what looks to have been an orchestrated and highly unethical (and perhaps illegal) short squeeze on the stock. According to some reports, during the pre-market session January 25, GameStop’s shares were up ~80%, and turned red during the trading session, with no fundamental news.In late 2018, Valuentum published Value Trap, a book that warned to all that would heed its warning that a collapse in the traditional quant value factor was coming and that excessive volatility in the markets caused by price-agnostic trading--or those that aren’t paying attention to fair value estimate calculations--would only build and build to eventually reach extreme and irrational levels. The book, while hugely successful winning award after award, was largely ignored by the media, despite our best efforts to get the word out. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost.

Jan 21, 2021

ICYMI: Valuentum's Brian Nelson on the Latest Howard Marks' Memo: "Something of Value"
Valuentum's President of Investment Research Brian Michael Nelson, CFA, explains why there are not really value and growth stocks, why most of the research in quantitative finance is spurious and needs to be redefined on a forward-looking basis, and why enterprise valuation (not the efficient markets hypothesis) should be the organizing principle of finance. Nelson explains his views about valuation, what it means to be a value investor, and investing in the context of Oaktree Capital Howard Marks' latest memo, "Something of Value," January 11, 2021.

Jan 8, 2021

L Brands Continues to Bounce Back
Image Source: L Brands Inc – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. L Brands is home to the Victoria’s Secret, PINK and Bath & Body Works retail brands (PINK is included within its Victoria’s Secret umbrella). The firm has ~2,700 company-operated stores in Canada, the Greater China region, and the US along with more than 700 franchised locations worldwide. Sometime in 2021, L Brands intends to separate Bath & Body Works from its other operations, a plan management reiterated during a virtual December 2020 investor presentation. Bath & Body Works has been growing at a brisk pace of late while Victoria’s Secret has been a drag on company-wide performance at L Brands. The company has a lot on its plate, as navigating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic while pursuing a major corporate overhaul is no easy task, though the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines should help improve its outlook as the global economy slowly begins to recover from the public health crisis. Recent fiscal stimulus measures in the US and elsewhere further supports L Brands’ outlook, as well as that of other retailers. Dick's Sporting Goods and Home Depot remain our two favorite omni-channel retail ideas for dividend-growth oriented investors.